Rainiers Continue Hot Start

The Rainiers kept doing what appears to be “their thing” on Wednesday night: drawing lots of walks when batting, and issuing very few while pitching.

Tacoma hitters walked six times while striking out just five times in a 9-3 win over El Paso. Meanwhile, the pitchers struck out 11 and walked just one. Quite a difference.

Joe Wieland had a very strong start and was much better than we saw him in the season opener on Thursday. Wieland went five innings, allowed one run, and struck out seven.

Again the bullpen was strong. Steve Johnson was particularly good, delivering two perfect innings while striking out a pair.

Offensively, the Rainiers sprayed ten hits around Cheney Stadium. Boog Powell reached four times from the leadoff spot, collecting two hits and two walks. Efren Navarro drove in three runs, and Mike Zunino launched his first homer of the season.

RAINIERS ROUND-UP

Yesterday: The Rainiers continued their excellent opening stretch, picking up a 9-3 win over El Paso. Tacoma is 5-1 with one game left on the homestand. This is the Rainiers best start after six games since at least the 1999 season.

Yes, it’s the longtime major league starter Jeremy Guthrie – winner of 91 games in the big leagues and member of the World Series champion Royals last year. The Ashland, OR native signed with the Rangers in the offseason, but they released him late in spring training. That’s when the Padres decided to give him a look.

Hot Rainiers: Ed Lucas and Mike Zunino each have five-game hitting streaks… Shawn O’Malley and Chris Taylor have reached base with a hit or a walk in all five they have played in… Daniel Robertson has reached base in seven of his 15 plate appearances… Efren Navarro has at least one RBI in five of the first six games, and he’s driven in seven runs over the last three games.

Look Out For: Alex Dickerson has homered in the first two games of this series, and he has four home runs in nine career games at Cheney Stadium… Jemile Weeks is 3-for-7 with a triple during this series… Carlos Asuaje and Austin Hedges each have four-game hitting streaks.

Broadcast: The pregame show starts at 6:50 (Pacific) on South Sound Sports 850 AM. The broadcast also streams online via the TuneIn app – just click here.

PCL Scoreboard: Follow all Pacific Coast League games in real-time with links to Gameday screens right here.

Links:

We’ll start with the Rainiers game story, which includes a lot of positive reaction to Boog Powell‘s big game.

It’s the last game of the homestand, and it’s Thirsty Thursday, see you at the park!

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